Staring at Babies
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Okay, now I get it.
I always wondered why other moms would stare so longingly at my newborn, especially when they would start to tear up or literally look as though they wanted to eat my baby right then and there. I naturally assumed it had something to do with how incredibly adorable both of my babies were (yes, I’m biased), but sometimes the whole encounter just seemed a little weird.
Fast forward to present day. My youngest is no longer in diapers and I know that we’re not going to have another baby. Whenever I see a woman walking along with a newborn baby I’m drawn to the baby like a moth to a flame. It doesn’t matter if I don’t know the woman, or if the baby is crying, cooing, or asleep. Whatever the circumstances, I can’t help but gravitate toward the baby and hold myself back from reaching out and trying to snuggle with him or her.
Now I get it. Now I understand what it is like to have experienced having a newborn baby in your arms, and then when your kids start to grow you miss the feeling like crazy. You forget all about the sleepless nights, the sore nipples, and the really gross diapers. All you know is that you would love to recapture the feeling - if only for a minute - of having a newborn baby nestled in your arms.
So if you see me longingly staring at your newborn, don’t worry. I’m not insane. I just miss the feeling of a newborn in my arms. I speak on behalf of all moms who have toddlers and preschoolers, by the way. Don’t be afraid of us…just take our staring as a compliment of how incredibly cute your baby is.
Melissa Haynie says...
Boy do you ever speak for me as a mom!!! I love every second of my daughter growing up and am often relieved at how much easier it is as she gets older, but when I see the tiny ones… read newborn to about 4 months I itch to pick them up and cuddle them close. My arms literally ache to hold a newborn again. My husband doesn’t get it. I say she used to fit so perfectly into my arms he says she still does… I say she was so cuddly and soft he says she hugs and kisses you all the time. I just sigh and say yes I know and she grins and smiles and laughs and squeals with fun and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world… and I miss when she would snuggle in and the whole world felt right. I have NEVER NEVER NEVER felt as complete as I have when I held my newborn daughter in my arms. New mama’s enjoy it.
Cathy says...
What a well-written description of an all-too-familiar feeling! I wouldn’t go back because I love the big kids I have (and sleeping all night, peeing with the door closed, and eating food before it gets cold) but I do miss the kids they were, those babies we love but have to lose. Now I understand what those old ladies meant when they said they really WANTED to babysit. I’m definitely going to be the old lady who snatches up the baby to hold during church when I grow up.